Roomates needed in St. John?

When you do get there check out Connections, just a block up from the ferry... they have bulletin boards that list want ads / for sale / roomates / etc... good luck

Jessica,

I have been sending photos of the Island Trader to a few people so that you can get an idea of what is available right now. Would you like a copy.

Steve

Steve,
Yes, I would love to see a copy. Are sending it via e-mail or snail mail? My e-mail is Jess_n_r@yahoo.com. That would be very helpful thanks.
Jessica

Jessica,

I took a look for anything in regards to St. John in the paper but there were no listings. If something does pop up I will send it to you via e-mail.

Steve

Wow, that's very kind Steve N, and here I was thinking that no one wanted to help!! I have been BEGGING for weeks for someone to send information my way regarding STJ housing, and the most promising response that I have received was "Usually, there is nothing available on STJ, BLAH BLAH BLAH" Good Luck!
I appreciate you keeping us all posted and having such great feedback. Nice to know that there is someone helpful and POSITIVE, but also realistic.
If you could be a gem, I would like it if you would send a photo to me of the Trader at you convenience.
jking109@comcast.net

Cheers
Amanda

Amanda,

Tried sending the photos but they bounced back. How about sending me an e-mail so I can respond. I tried .net and .com and both came back.

Steve

I hate to tell you that it isnt realistic to find a place right away. The best way to do it is to move down here, make friends, quickly, and find some places you can crash. Many places require first and last months rent. It is relatively easy to find a job on STJ but right now is the worst time of the year. Honestly, finding a job is harder than a place to stay. Right now through september is the best time to find a place to live, STJ, because most of the seasonal people have left. The best time to find a job is October because everyone is hiring for the season. St john is a highly sought after place to live and it is rated as one of the most expensive places to live in the WORLD. A night at the Westin averages 500 a night, Caneel is around 700 a night, and villas are thousands per week. If you do the logic, why would you rent a nice place per month to a local when you can make thousands per week(and usually there is a waiting list for those!) renting to tourists? Most people who live on STJ do tire of the same questions. Right now, there is a 1000$ reward for finding a couple a place to live. Does that tell you anything?

To add to what Chris has written above, I would suggest finding a place to live on the East End of St.Thomas,so that you then have easy access to the ferry to Cruz Bay on St.John. The boats are filled with folks that do just that everyday.

So live on St.Thomas, find a job on St.John if you want, and as Chris noted,make friends and soon, you might be finding yourself living on St.John.

My ideal habitat............one day! For now I live on the East End of St.Thomas.

Thank you Paul. It's our Plan B. But I don't think it will be a problem.
Amanda

> Thanks for the info Chris. However, we have visited STJ a number of
> timesand have been planning our move for over a year, not just a spur
> of the moment move. We are WELL aware of the expence and difficulty
> of finding housing. I just thought that it was very nice of Steve to
> be so helpful, so I told him so. I know plenty of people who live/
> lived on STJ who secured housing from the states and had a pleasant
> move. Crashing on someone's couch is not an option for us, and from
> what I understand, most of the people who live there won't give you
> the time of day unless you've lived there for a year or so, or at
> least that's what I've been told from you helpful and nice folks on
> this message board. Maybe moving to the islands isn't meant for
> everyone, but let people find out on their own. Who are you to tell
> someone that what that they've been dreaming of probably won't work
> out because it's hard! You made it, right? And living on STJ is about
> as expensive as living in Atlanta, GA, which isn't nearly the cost of
> living in NYC, which is in the top 10 most expensive places to live in
> the world. STJ wasn't on that list. But thanks anyway!!
> Cheers,
> Amanda

Amanda,
I am not trying to scare people away or be negative. I am pointing out facts. Unless you are rich, you will NOT have an easy time, just as I did not. I slept in a gazebo for two months and I also had a company that housed me free of charge for two months. I also had a full time, salaried position from day one. Food, gas, automobiles, and EVERYTHING is expensive. Add a dollar to almost everything you buy in georgia and thats your price , if it is available. I take the car ferry over to STT every month and stock up with good from K Mart and costuless because of the high prices. I am also sure that there are more job opportunities available in Georgia...everything is built around tourism here. Most of the jobs are bartending, waitressing, cooking, and the hospitality stuff. I am just pointing out facts, why would I waste my time pointing these things out? I am trying to help.
You seem pretty naive and all I can say is we'll see how long you last. I bet youve never had to deal with all the local things on your vacation like working, running errands, hurricane season, or trying to get your car fixed. This is not GEORGIA and i promise you that it is a whole different world. There will be somethings you like and definately things you hate. I have seen hundreds of people just like you come and go. Many of them werent half as snotty as your email and posts seem to indicate. If you act like a know-it-all down here in our small community you will think georgia is a paradise. Keep your sarcasm and your snotty comments towards me(who is only posting to help greenhorns like you!)on the message board and NEVER email me personally unless you can apologize for acting like such a little child who is more interested in being right that learn a damned thing.
Our island definately doesnt need another know-it-all greenhorn stateside snot. Good luck!!!!!

Thanks for the info, Chris! Very helpful!!

Let's stop the bickering, you two! We're all friends here, all tryin gto help one another, cool?
Okay, Hello everyone! I'm Claire and will be moving in September! Does anyone have a suggestion on a rental agent on STT, east end?
Thanks a lot, and y'all be nice!!

Claire

Listen to chris, he knows what talking about.. No one ever wants to here the bad stuff. It might not be as expensive as NYC but you most likly wont make 1/2 of what you can make there.

Amanda, let me try this one more time.

Those of us who have already made the move realize what challenges you will face. We are not being negative, just realistic. Most people who post on this board have made the move successfully. The ones who don't may leave one good-bye message, but then they move and also move on, if you know what I mean. They don't post here anymore.

In my experience and the experience of people I know personally, people who move sucessfully do so in one of 2 ways.

Some, like Chris on STJ, have "real jobs" with housing arranged before they ever arrive. Here on STX, many people are transferred in and out of Hovensa. Their move is easy, the company pays for everything. Chris is a chef, in demand. If you're a nurse or a doctor, no problem. But for an average person, it's not so easy. It is not had to find a job on any of the islands. It is hard to make a living.

And there are those like my husband and me. We had no jobs and no place to live, but we had one thing. We had money. Not Donald Trump money, but money. We planned to move after I retired from my job. I have a pension that gives us a nice safety net. We saved and budgeted more than $10,000 for the move. Sounds like a lot? Maybe, but we used almost all of it.

We stored furniture in the States, we drove our cars to Florida and had a vacation while they were shipped. We had hotel accomodations here arranged for 2 weeks while we looked for a place to live.

We lucked into a very nice cottage on a hill with a long sea view. Not fancy, but it suited us. And the price was right -- $650 a month. BUT -- our landlord, and you will find this is the rule and not the exception, also want $650 for last month and $650 security deposit. The third day on the island, we handed somebody almost $2,000. And then came the deposits for utilites, phone, cable, a cell phone, the taxes and registration and insurance for the cars. Money made what would have been a stressful experience less so.

We moved here August 13th of last year. My husband got a job he really likes 3 months later. I found my job 3 months after that. So we had 3 months to explore, get our bearings, fine the groceries, the barber shop, the auto mechanic. We had 3 months to go to the beach, visit the Whim Museum, the rum factory, the botanical gardens. 3 months to play tourist. We had that luxury because of money.

And now we both have jobs and are MAKING A LIVING. We're even back to saving again. Now our "moving fund" is our "visit the family" fund. We are here for the long haul. We live here now.

After you get here, will you do those who come after you a BIG favor and keep us posted on your progress? Who knows, you may find your experience just what you expect and you can tell us how wrong we were. Some people do luck into good jobs and great homes. But it would be a service for others if you keep us posted about the good and the bad.

Good luck. Linda J

Hello Amanda. I would like to put in my two cents, lol. I think everyone is just trying to stress how hard it is to find housing on St John. The company I work for has two locations, one in St. Thomas and one in St. John. Due to the hours of the business (it's a bar), most of the employees have no choice but to live on St. John. All have roommates. Two are fortunate enough to have a condo which is owned by parents. We had a manager who couldn't find a place of his own and bounced around for about four months. I live in Red Hook, I have a great apartment. It's a two bedroom. My rent is $1200 a month. The same apartment on St. John would cost about $2500. Just for comparison. St. John is beautiful, I wish I could live there. I had to compromise and live on the east end, where it's just a ferry ride away. I prefer the ferry ride to St. John, rather than driving to town. I guess we are all just cautioning you because we all probably know someone on St. John and how long it took them to secure a decent place. Of course, if money isn't an option, you won't have such a hard time.

Cheers.

Matt

Hello Claire. I have two suggestions for you. The first is to secure temporary housing and look for a place when you get here, especially since you won't be here until September, it shouldn't be hard to find a place then. The second is, if you want to use a rental agent, call the Real Estate Center, 340-775-1717. Ask for Mike or Sandy Lampe. They have some nice rentals. They also have a place called the "Captain's Quarter," which is great temporary housing. Try to get a room downstairs, you have the option of having your own bath or sharing. It's cheaper to share, obviously, but you aren't sharing with a whole lot of people. I stayed there when I moved here a year ago. It's a great location on the east end, walking is no probem and catching safari taxis is easy too. They have really done a lot of improvements to the place. You can't find nicer people, either. In the mean time try to get Steve to send you a pic of the Island Trader. Good Luck.

Matt

Thanks for the insight, Linda...I do not have money but am planning to move anyway--maybe to live out my dream! I may not stay for the rest of my life, but I am going to try it. I am a single mom with one 8-year old son and My reason for this response is--what area of the island do you think would be wisest to start looking for housing being a single mom with an 8 year old? I already looked at Antilles for Zach to go to school. And, I am hoping to use public transportation or our bikes, but want to feel safe as we are biking our way on the island! Also, have you been through a hurricane? I think I want to live near a "shelter" if you will, for weather safety! Vicki

Hello Vicki. Biking isn't an option as a mode of transportation. I would definitely make sure you have enough money saved up before you come down. If you are looking to send your son to Antilles School you would probably want to live in that area, the Frenchman's area. Trust me that is a very hilly area, no bking possible, especially up Donkey Hill, LOL! You may want to try the east end, Montessori School. I'm not sure what these schools cost. I'm sure they aren't cheap though. Good Luck.

Matt

Antilles is $12-13K a year.

Thanks, Matt. My friends live in Sapphire Village which is east end...I have money saved up, but I am not rich--and I hope to get a job. Is St. Thomas more expensive than living in Michigan? I hope not. I know I won't need winter clothes, heating. LOL

Thank you everyone! Like I've said earlier, East End of STT is our Plan B and I search the Virgin Islands DAily News everyday. I understand the difficulties and I appreciate everyones input. And for the record, I sent Chris a major apology that he REALLY deserved! I guess I needed to be put in my place!!
Cheers Everybody!!!
Amanda

hey there I am moving to St John in august from NY .Lets chat.....
Cristina

I appreciate the apology.

I wanted to change my brakes today on my day off. I went to the auto parts store. I had to order the parts from the states. I'll get it on Wednesday, probably too late before I have to go to work. I hope my brakes will hold out till Thursday on the hills. I also took the ferry to red hook to get fresh produce for my night at the Tamarind Inn and do some banking because the two banks on STJ treat the customers like they are the only banks on the planet. I grabbed the ferry back two hours later and the ferry dropped us off at the national park dock and created a minor traffic jam of taxis and the bus rushing over to get the thousand plus people unloading from the ferry. I head to the laundry mat and do three machines worth of laundry, grab some take out , and that is my day on off on STJ. Three loads of laundry cost 21$ to wash and dry(partially). Two orders of chinese take out cost over thirty dollars. That is a day in the life of a Johnny. I made a good comparison the other day. A local who has NEVER been to the states asked me what its like. I said if you went to the states, it would be as if you were playing a videotape and hit fast forward. I think the same is in reverse. If you come from the states, it is like hitting slow motion. I have been here almost two years and it seems like things still move very slow. Just an observation. The nice thing is.......no matter how fustrating things can be, you go out snorkling and forget about it all in a pristine reef and it is what i think about in a checkout line, ferry line, or bank line. You cant lose track of why you are here. When you get here, your employers will let you work yourself to death. Many people get two, three jobs..........lose track of why they came here and get burnt out. If you keep that in mind, this beats the HELL out of corporate america. "we are all here because we arent all there"

Little off the subject but here goes. I know there's at least a chef and some other hospatality workers on this board that might be able to give me the heads up on a watering hole in St. John that might be for sale--Duffy's Love Shack. I've been in the bar business for some time in the states and I've been to Duffy's in St. John a couple times. Needless to say it's hard to get a good read on the place in only two visits. Can someone speak to how it's going there?